Interview like a rock-star

Make sure you watch the video at the end.

So how did your last interview start?

1.      You waited in the reception for someone to call your name.

2.      You walked into the interview room, shook hands and made some small talk to break-the-ice. What was the most intelligent thing that you could come up with – the weather, traffic, last night’s sports?

3.      You’re then hit with the worst interview question ever – tell me about yourself (did you not even bother reading my resume?).  

4.      Your best answer to that – My name is XYZ, I’ve had such a wonderful career and that’s why I’m interviewing again, I’m married with 100 children, my hobbies are surfing the internet (love that) and chatting (really?).

Have you ever recited this answer to yourself in front of the mirror – is this really the best you can do?

5.      You get asked another 8-10 questions as the interviewer has kept 30 minutes aside for you.

6.      The interview finishes with you being asked if you have any questions or would like to add anything. You decline because you really don’t have anything else to say.

7.      Go back to the reception again making some small talk about the news or holiday plans

8.      You head back home or to your current work place

9.      On the way remember that you totally forgot to mention that you could complete a project on a 10% budget with 1 team member against a need of 100, 5 days before the deadline. Your pièce de résistance

Well if this interview sounds anything like what you’ve gone through, I’m sure you’ve had to go through many such ones. And you haven’t yet figured out what you are doing wrong.

So where does it go wrong? It’s probably your answer to “tell me about yourself”. You just don’t have a good enough answer to it. Then you are on the back foot and defending against other such meaningless questions like “tell me about a time when you…”. You are then left feeling like a deer staring into an on-coming car’s headlights. FROZEN!! With no good thoughts going through your head.

You were probably relieved at the end of the interview – the torture is over. That’s why when they ask if you have any questions or would like to add anything – your usual response is “I’m fine, thank you”. That’s like making cake and forgetting to add the sugar! The interviewer was giving you a last chance to shine through and show why you should get the job and you declined the opportunity.

I’ve interviewed a few hundred people in my life and most people do quite poorly in interviews. The interviewer is usually using this as an opportunity to see how you do in a stressful situation. And not everyone can shine in such a situation.

So, what can you do differently? You have to control the interview and get the interviewer to ask you the questions you want to answer. To do that, you must think of yourself as a brand or a product. Why would the customer (employer) buy you?

Let’s drill this question down some:

1.      The first thing you must understand is why does the vacancy exist? What is the problem that the interviewer/ employer is trying to solve. If every product exists to solve a problem (deodorant to make you smell better, toothpaste to keep your teeth healthier, milkshake to keep you filled up and give your hands something to do) why shouldn’t every vacancy and employee exist to solve a problem as well?

2.      Once you’ve understood the job that must be done, and you continue to be excited by it, you need to prepare yourself for why you are the most suited for the job. Think – why do you buy Surf instead of Ariel or Colgate against Close-up or Nivea against Ponds. They all do the job – but the one you choose does the job better for you. Graham Robertson uses a great Venn-diagram (yeah remember those from school?) to help you establish your winning zone. You need to establish what you are great at, that your employer wants and what the other interviewees are not so good at. Work on the strengths that only you have and your employer would want.

 3.      Once you’ve understood what makes you a winner, you then need to sell yourself. This is your 5 point, 15 seconds radio ad.

“As the project lead, I was able to complete projects within 10% of the budget, with 5 fewer staff 10 days before the deadline. On average my projects saved my employers $100 million. I’m excited at the prospect of being able to show similar success on much larger projects at your company Mr(s) Interviewer.”

Some points to remember:

• Keep it shorter than 15 seconds – if you can’t say it in 15 seconds you won’t remember it at the interview and it won’t make much of an impact
• Shows some track record of what you’ve been able to do – something NOT directly mentioned on your resume but alluded to
• What is the benefit for the employer? What can they expect from hiring you? Make sure this is the problem the employer wants to solve by hiring you

4.      Be prepared to expand on your sales pitch. You could very well be asked “how do you propose to do that at our company?” or something similar. Plus, you will need this expanded pitch to control the interview. Stick with your sales pitch. Expand the pitch by developing examples of what you have done

• As the project lead - talk about your track record, how many years’ experience, with what type of companies; talk about how you have risen to this position – what is the style of leadership that’s brought you here? how do you go about setting and achieving goals?
• I was able to complete projects within 10% of the budget, with 5 fewer staff 10 days before the deadline - Talk about the different projects you have completed; What have been the budgeting challenges – how do you fix and then stay within the budgets; How do you work with fewer staff and get them to deliver more than what’s expected off them? What sort of training do you give your team? What type of people do you like working with; What do you do to manage timelines, what is your contingency planning?
• On average my projects saved my employers $100 million - How have you measured your success? Examples of different amounts saved at each project; What’s been your most successful and enjoyable project so far?
• I’m excited at the prospect of being able to show similar success on much larger projects at your company Mr(s) Interviewer - This is where you need to show the interviewer that you understand what they are looking for – if required state the obvious – you need someone who can solve ABDC problem for you; Summarise how you have a proven track record which shows why you would be the best person to do this job

This should give you 10-12 examples and points to talk about. These should really be your best stories. Make sure you have practised your stories in front of the mirror. Keep track of your body language, how many pauses you have in-between sentences, how much your hands/ head move, etc.

So, the next time you are asked to tell the interviewer about yourself, use the 15 second radio ad. Each time they ask you “tell me about a time when you…” use the 10-12 examples described above. If you are asked to add anything at the end, repeat your radio ad by changing it ever so slightly: I hope I have shown to you the many ways I could help your company save money by successfully executing such projects under budget and before deadlines.

This way you will control the interview and instead put the interviewer on the back foot – they won’t be expecting someone this prepared and clear-headed. When you are discussed by the various interviewers, your short and clear pitch should stick in the interviewer’s head – I really liked this candidate as he has shown on so many projects that he can save us some real money.

To sign off, watch this video on how good and bad interviews are done: